


Now You're Pondering With Teleportation

by MegaUnchained



Series: Full Steam Ahead! [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), Pizza, Portals, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaUnchained/pseuds/MegaUnchained
Summary: Drummer Kim Summers and inventor Marianne Teslagrade test out S.P.O.T., a teleportation device created by Marianne. Hijinks ensue with pizza and portals.
Series: Full Steam Ahead! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160156





	Now You're Pondering With Teleportation

_BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP._

“Hhnnghhh…” A dull whine echoed through the bedroom against the raucous siren of beeps echoing from a phone nearby. Suddenly, a meaty arm lurched out from the confines of a warm fluffy bed and attached to said arm, a doughy hand haphazardly searched around for the source of the noise. Seconds of exploring later the hand grabbed hold of the phone and held it up to a face. 11:00 it read, morning was all but over.

“Almost noon already? Eh, might as well get started on the day.” With that, a large mass heaved off the blanket confining it to reveal a young woman. Said young woman was Kimberly Summers, though she preferred to be called by Kim. An aspiring drummer residing in the town of Harper Bay, working in retail 9 to 5 on the daily grind, today was one of the few days off she got in her schedule. Naturally, the best way to spend that time of freedom was to sleep in, which was the plan until her phone went off. Accompanying that 11:00 AM wakeup call was a text message from a companion of hers. “Hey Kim, meet me in the workshop as soon as possible. There’s something I want to show you.” The text itself was from her friend Marianne Teslagrade, a kind-hearted inventor with a flair for the Victorian-era and steampunk design. Always known for her out there gadgetry and aspirations of pushing science to new frontiers, she looked toward the future with a prominent smile, knowing one day her impacts will be felt for years to follow. Kim however, was a tad more basic. Play the drums, make it big, simple and straight to the point. Willing herself to the realm of the living, Kim popped on the radio by her bedside and proceeded to perform her morning stretch before shuffling her body to the edge of the bed. The mattress creaked and sank with the sudden shift in bulk distribution, though honestly, she enjoyed it that way. The woman stamped her left foot to the ground first with the right one following suit, the impact sending ripples across her bountiful frame. She could not help but giggle slightly at the proceeding events, even if it was a daily occurrence. Kim was big, very big for her, well, everything. Neck barely visible as it was engulfed beneath her pudgy face, lined with a well-defined double chin, broad puffy shoulders and arms, thick, trunk-like thighs that flattened most chairs, and then there was the vast spherical orb that was her stomach. The ‘ol drum Kim called it, her pride and joy, considering that her drum was the reason she kept outgrowing the drum sets in town. Nearly two-and-a-half feet wide and jutting out nearly half of that, Kim reveled in her girth, constantly keeping herself indulged with treats and meals. Big ladies should eat big she thought, and no one ate like Kim.

Kim soon lumbered over to the bathroom and took out a comb, stroking her dark brown hair daintily in spite of her frame constantly fighting against her in a struggle to keep the large lass steady. In the end she succeeded, combing the locks to two interlocked visors in the front and a short crescent moon in the back. Next came dental hygiene, brushing to the beat of music in the background, Kim could not resist jamming to the melody, her bloated belly swaying side to side along with her thick hips. Her gut surprisingly, and more importantly, gravity defyingly never sagged except when perched atop a tabletop, which was basically every night she’d drag her friend over to the buffets for dinner and then Annabelle’s Sweet Treat Emporium for a dessert run. So every day for a short while to surmise. Even more surprisingly, Kim is incredibly light on her feet, making most activities a breeze despite her ever-increasing weight. Walking was a hassle and she’d rather waddle around given the choice, but she makes do with what she’s given. With hygiene handled, Kim returned to her room and opened up the closet, lined with incredibly skimpy clothing that covered only the essentials. The essentials being anything that isn’t her belly according to Kim. Taking out a purple t-shirt with 'Drummin’ proudly emblazoned in the middle colored in an eye-catching neon green (a nod to the colors of her alma mater) with a yellow eighth note slotted on the left sleeve. The lardy lass struggled to get it on, having it only barely reaching past her bosom and leaving a good chunk of her belly exposed. Kim then threw on blue denim shorts as she peeled off her ill-fitting pajamas for the equally tight clothing she picked out. It was a struggle taking off her pajamas without simply ripping them off, even more so just to get her selected outfit on. A simple problem with a simple solution: just buy larger clothes. Kim doesn’t roll like that. When asked that by her friend, she waved it off, stating, “Listen, if bigger clothes means keeping the ol’ drum confined then I’ll eagerly take the clothes that I should have thrown away about a hundred pounds ago. That’s how I roll.” And roll she theoretically could, considering just how massive her body really was. Four hundred plus pounds of woman with a bloated orb for a belly rolling down the street. A tantalizing thought, but not one for now. After a few agonizing minutes, Kim came out victorious, with the spoils of war of hearing the fabric slightly tearing with each gentle motion as an added bonus. Shuffling over to the mirror, Kim pulled her glasses off the counter, popped them on her face and then perched her fists against her love handles thicker than the Sunday paper, before lifting her right arm, unclenching the fist, and then striking the bountiful orb that was her gut with a hearty smack. Call it tradition, call it hedonism, Kim calls it her daily ritual, a confirmation of her stature as a “big girl.”

Of course the next phase was breakfast, to which Kim promptly set up a bowl of cereal, scrambled eggs, some French toast, and an accompanying half gallon jug of chocolate milk to wash it all down. Sitting herself down onto a wooden chair, Kim began to feast, playing with her food as she ate, all the while listening to the moaning of lumber against her heavy backside. Kim enjoyed the cacophonous sound, wondering how she could implement that riot into an instrumental mix. Of course it would require taking some drum sticks and slapping them against the belly, but that only made it more enjoyable for her. Once breakfast was finished, Kim soothed her stuffed stomach for a minute before cleaning up, strapping on her blue shoes with two pink stars on them, and made for the front door. Marianne and her lived on the same street in town, though to be fair, it wasn’t hard to figure out which house was that of the gadgeteer. A few steps of heavy walking from Kim’s house and she found herself staring a monolith of a mansion-like design as if it were ripped straight out of the 1870s. A cobblestone pathway guided visitors to a maroon colored front door with its paint slightly peeling. The door was cast against a marble wall surrounding the façade on all sides, with a quaint brick chimney on the left side of the structure. The house itself was three floors with a basement floor that led to Marianne’s workshop. The entrance to said workshop was only accessible via a spiral brass staircase as it descends deeper into the catacombs of Marianne’s own design. As Kim knocked on the door, she looked up and noticed the wooden walkways above her leading outside of each of the floors. Daunting glass windows jutted out from the structure with copper piping wrapping around the house like a bow. Capping it all off was a large, tiled roof with steam whistle-like smokestacks popping out from the inside. Black and gray plumes bellowed from these vents, a telltale sign of inventing at work. The house itself was the largest and most grandiose on the block, and one of few things that could make even Kim seem small. Soon enough, a small, winged contraption exited through the bars of the wooden door, sizing up the doughy drummer. After a few seconds, it retreated back inside and the tumbler of the door soon unlocked. The entrance opened up and Kim soon made her way inside after squeezing her heavy body through the door. Marianne’s really gotta make that door wider, Kim lamented to herself. Her lamentations would soon become audible though, as she realized the looming staircase that she stared down was the only way to get into her friend’s laboratory. Huffing, panting, and even the occasional wheeze were spat out of Kim’s mouth as her obese body slowly made its way down the flight of steps. Wiping off beads of sweat emanating from her brow, the lumbering titan finally found her way down to her last challenge: getting within the inventor’s domain after slotting herself through the door frame.

“All right Kim, you got this. A one, a two, a one two three fo-“

_WOOMF_

As if on cue, Kim found herself firmly squeezed within the frame of the door, although this one was much less forgiving than that of the main entrance. “Every time, every time this happens,” Kim moaned in defeat. “I tell her, ‘Yo, Marianne, you really need to make this door bigger. Sure you could use the added retail space as well, but me, only a matter of time before my solo blows the whole thing down.’ Yet here I am, stuck with the drum unable to jam.” Hrrks and hmmphs were sputtered out as the stuck woman tried desperately to pry herself out, ultimately to no avail. That heavy belly was just too much for it. With a sigh, Kim soon belted out in a plea for help. “Yo, Marianne!”

“Huh? Oh, coming!” A voice rang from the back of the workshop. Said voice belong to Marianne, as she lifted herself off her seat, placing a small gauntlet on the countertop, and made for the door where there was currently a blockage. Wooden floors and metallic tile against brick walls, a collection of gadgets and gizmos, aptly named Tinkertoys by their creator littered work benches, desks, and bookcases which were not currently occupied by the works of Jules Verne and other similar stories. Admiring her craftiness and clever taste in design for just a brief moment, the inventor clasped her fists against her heavy hips, before lifting them up as she swayed gracefully towards her trapped friend. “Stuck again eh Kim?” She questioned in earnest. “

Very funny,” a sarcastic Kim replied, “Now, _hrrgh_ , you mind, _hnngh,_ giving me a hand here?” Just teasing Marianne a few moments ago, now asking for help. Turns out the constant feasting left Kim in a bind, constantly getting her wide frame stuck in doors and all. A small price to pay for what she viewed as the peak female form.

“Ugh, fine.” With that, Marianne dusted herself off and hopped on up to help the hulking mammoth filling up the only way out of the workshop. Marianne herself was substantially smaller than her gal pal, but if Kim was a whale, Marianne was seal. Slightly pudgy with a defined belly slightly larger than a beach ball in appearance, as a bell like torso bulged out at the base in the middle, while sporting puffy arms, but were mere pool noodles compared to Kim’s trunk-like ones. The main difference between the two was while Kim was bloated at the belly, Marianne was thick at the hip. Thighs nearly rivaling Kim’s stomach in width, losing out by an inch or two, the blonde creator was rather curvy before meeting Kim all those years ago, but she knew better than anyone that Kim’s appetite was infectious, and the once toned stomach was now a growing orb.

“So Marianne, when do you plan on, you know, widening this door?”

“When I get the time after I finish working on a list of things I want to create. Progress stops for no one Kim!” Marianne beamed in delight.

“But progress sure does stop when your drum gets wedged…”

“Look, I’m trying to help here, goodness you’re heavy!’ Marianne whined as she tried to pull Kim out.

“The sky is blue and the grass is green, what else is new?”

“I can do without the sarcasm and _hmmph_ , a bit more, _hrrk_ , support-whoops!” Several tugs and Kim reluctantly sucking in her gut later, the mound of blubber found itself freed from the tight prison only to plunge face first into the wooden floor with an emphatic thud. Kim soon placed her hands against the floor and with a heave and a ho, she propped herself upright with minimal struggle.

“And she sticks the landing!” The percussionist proudly stated. Marianne just lightly giggled, making the best out of a comedic situation. With the two now united, Marianne led her friend towards the back of the workshop, to what she was working on.

“It amazes me Marianne,” Kim said in disbelief. “Every day you seem to make something I hadn’t seen in here. First a robotic butler, a utility belt with a built in hammer, a giant vehicular drill capable of exploring the center of the earth. What’s next with you anyway? Time travel? Because you could tell me point blank yes and I’d thoroughly believe it.”

“Flattery aside Kim,”

“No I genuinely mean it. There is no one I know with the same passion and capability as you. Times I wish I had that type of drive myself.” “Aww, thanks.” Marianne blushed before giving her friend a hearty hug. At least her friend’s stomach anyway, it was kind of hard to reach all the way across Kim nowadays. “Now anyway, why I called you here. Can I get a drum roll please?” “

Heh, on it!” With a proud smirk, Kim pulled out her two signature drum sticks from her shorts pocket, struck them in the air three times before slamming them skillfully against her belly in a proper drum roll matter, before breaking out into her own song that she had been working on with a name still in development. Marianne just stood there baffled. How one was capable of producing a sound equivalent to that of a base drum on their own body. It wasn’t just the sound but the presentation that also amazed the inventor. For all the praise Kim just heaped onto her, it was the musician that now had the tinkerer envious. Skills matching that of even the most seasoned of rhythmists that have been on tour for years, proudly on display with a rater fat gut.

“I uhh…wow.” Marianne stammered, struggling to even find words to describe her amazement. “Kim, you never cease to fascinate me with your raw talent.”

“Well what can I say?” Kim placed a drum stick in her right hand to accompany the one already there, freeing her left hand to give her heavy belly a solid slap. “It ain’t called ‘taut as a drum for nothin’!”

“Of course,” Marianne said rolling her eyes, “Oh right! Behold! Tinkertoy number 102! The Super Polarizing Object Transporter! Or S.P.O.T. for short.” Marianne beamed with joy as she grabbed the gauntlet she had been working on for a while now. A gaudy, brass infused gauntlet laced in cogs and gears, even featuring a nod to the Fibonacci sequence on the side. Thick rubber diodes ran above the knuckles leading to two tiny, armored copper plates covering the fingers while using a special fabric interior to keep the hand flexible as if it weren’t confined at all. However, the main draw was on the palm of the gauntlet; a large circular hole with minor pulses of maroon and a brassy yellow circling the exterior diameter, which one could suppose is why Marianne coined the name S.P.O.T. in the first place. As Marianne described the development process and how it functions to Kim, the heavy lady completely spaced out for the entire duration of the spiel. There was only one thought in Kim’s mind, a curiosity to test the will of man.

“Ooh, a gauntlet!” Kim said in absolute obliviousness to her friend’s documentation of her trials and tribulations. “Well in layman’s terms yes it is, but there’s more than- **HEY**!” Marianne gasped as Kim swiped the gauntlet from the counter and placed it firmly over here right hand. It pinched against her doughy arm slightly, but the more pronounced arm fat interested Kim. Soon enough she began coiling her fingers in such a way to prepare to create a clicking noise by striking two fingers together.

“I am, inevitable.” Kim duly stated before letting off a powerful, yet emphatic…

_SNAP_

“What the?”

_SNAP SNAP SNAP_

“And I, am unamused.” Marianne groaned in sheer disappointment. One of her greatest Tinkertoys to date. One, if successful, would put her name on the same status as Edison and Tesla, revered for generations long after they’ve been gone, now reduced to that of a simple pop culture reference.

“Listen, can you blame me for trying? You made a gauntlet Marianne, of course I couldn’t resist.”

“Degrading my inventions to that of cheap Hollywood blockbusters, regardless of how well it did in the box office, is a flagrant insult to my creative vision. Besides, why would I even make something that would wipe out half the universe? Or considering what you just did, 93.75% of said universe?”

“Well I thought it was funny....” Kim grumbled to herself as she poked her fingers together, taking pride in her joke against a rather staunch critic.

“Anyways…” Marianne attempted to continue, “S.P.O.T. is special. It is designed to create a spot that can be plastered on any surface whatsoever. But what good is just some random hole in the wall you may think? By inputting a location on the gauntlet here,” Marianne soon pointed below the diodes to reveal a small hatch. Pressing a button beneath it, it revealed a display with letters and numbers like a standard keyboard, “You can instantly create a gateway to anywhere you type up! Of course this can also be done neurotically, as S.P.O.T. also connects to the nerve tissue within you hand and thus is able to relay all the way through the spinal cord and to the frontal lobe. Thus allowing transmission of said location to the gauntlet without input. But then there’s more! You can set a second spot on a different surface and boom! Instant access to transport yourself between two different locations, though at the moment I’ve only gotten it to function between two surfaces within a room.”

“Blah blah blah, big words make brain hurt.” Kim carped sardonically. “For the non-brainiacs please?”

“ _Sigh_ , spot relay from brain or keyboard. One spot leads to location of choice. Two spots can teleport within a room."

“Ohhh…so it’s like _Portal_!” Kim lit up the moment she was able to piece together the similarities. Marianne however, was taken aback by the statement, almost going into a state of shock.

“Huh? P-portal? You mean, it’s already been done?”

“I suppose, there’s this girl with a gun which can teleport her between two locations, and there’s this evil robot thing that makes snarky remarks, and oh! In the sequel there’s this British sphere and they go to space and-"

As Kim rambled on, Marianne’s heart sank, the woman soon crumbled to the floor. All that hard work and dedication, and it’s already been done before her. Picking herself up, she sighed before walking over to collect a small device with a big red button.

“Well, if you’re not first you’re last.” The dejected inventor whimpered, effectively waving the white flag. “Guess there’s no reason for S.P.O.T.” She took a finger and reached for the button, Self-Destruct it read, as she submitted to despair like accepting one’s own mortality. Kim, realizing that her friend was about to blow up the gauntlet, immediately went into a state of panic. The gauntlet was still on her hand after all, and two hands are better for drumming than one. However, Kim put her own priorities aside and began to frantically plea with Marianne like a chicken whose head was just cut off.

“Woah woah woah! Marianne wait!” Kim cried frantically flailing her arms. “W-what I meant to say that it was only a game I was referencing. Science fiction that’s all. This hasn’t been done in real life yet. If it were, it would have been far more public than not at all ya know? You’re the first one to do this outside of fiction Marianne!” Her words got through to the tinkerer, as Marianne motioned her hand away from the device before storing it in a small cabinet.

“You know Kim,” Marianne said rubbing her eyes, puffy and red from the sting of her friend’s poor wording. “You really should have said that from the beginning, because, well, I was this close from blowing up four years of research, dedication, sweat, and mastering physics.” The blonde’s words grew stern and cold, so much so that Kim felt a frigid chill course through her entire body. A brief awkward silence passes before the bespectacled brunette broke the ice.

“So uhh, I assume the reason you called me over wasn’t just to show off S.P.O.T., right?”

“Yeah, I wanted you, a very good friend of mine, to be the first to try it out. Work out the kinks before potentially mass producing these!” Marianne’s sadness had since melted away, and a glimmering beam of hope radiated through her demeanor.

“Ah yes, the doctor’s mad rat.” Kim chuckled.

“Brevity is the soul of wit Kim, not levity.” Marianne remarked, downplaying her friend’s comedic take. “Now, just give it some thought and let’s go! An industrial revolution’s evolution!”

“Yeah, gonna level with you Marianne, you really need a better catchphrase than that.” duly replied Kim. “There’s a reason song titles are often short and sweet. Gets the impact out immediately and illustrates the purpose behind it, err most of the time.”

“Irrelevance to the task at hand aside,” the inventor complained, “you have an idea where you want to try it out first?” Suddenly a loud bassy rumble filled the room. Marianne pinpointed the source of the sound and soon her crosshair imbued eyes shifted their gaze to the bloated belly of her heavyset friend. Apparently a heavy breakfast wasn’t enough to satiate the growing sphere.

“Oh,” Kim said, delightfully licking her lips. “I have a place in mind.” Thinking up the location in question, the gauntlet upon her hand began to whir as the interior mechanisms got to work. Spinning cogs, flashes of light emanating from the diodes, and bellows of steam burst out from the glove like appendage. Soon after, the whirring grew louder and louder as a maroonish light began the spin faster and faster from the palm, soon enveloping the entire circle in a reddish tint.

“It’s working!” Marianne glowed with excitement. “Now Kim, point the spot at a surface of your choosing, that way you’ll be able to reach out and interact with your desired place. And another thing to note, the spots are large enough for you to enter through them fully, not just with a hand.”

“Just like in-”

“Don’t. even. Kim.”

“Fine, fine.” Soon Kim pointed the gauntlet at a nearby wall, her hand fully open as the pulsating light shone brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the flash of light raced out from the circle and rushed towards the wall, soon smashing itself into it. A section of the wall was now engulfed in a thin ring of burgundy, as suddenly a new image was projected in the bricks’ stead. What was visible was a marble countertop, black and white tiles for the flooring, and a large brick oven. Just out of view but barely discernable was a stack of white boxes, however what permeated through the spot was a thick scent of pasta sauce and cheese.

“Yes! It’s functioning properly!” Marianne jumped for joy before landing back onto the tile, slightly losing her balance on reentry due to her bottom heavy frame disrupting her equilibrium. “I can’t thank you enough Kim. With this Tinkertoy, I move one step closer to being able to say, ‘And this is the work of renowned inventor, Marianne Tesla-huh?” Her joy was disrupted by finally looking at the spot Kim had created. The location itself was incredibly familiar, and it didn’t take long for Marianne to piece it together. “Wait a minute, Alberto’s Pizzeria? You have the possibility to going anywhere where the only limit is your imagination and you chose Alberto’s?”

“Hey, I was hungry,” Kim whined, insulted by her friend’s insinuation of a simple mind. “speaking of which…” Kim reached into the spot and carefully dug around for a box. Clasping it firmly, she yanked the box from the counter and brought it with her back into the workshop. “Hoo boy Marianne, that is some wacky gadget. Really cuts down on travel time.” Kim popped open the box to reveal a large cheese pizza pie, fresh out of the oven. The large lady salivated just looking at it, before beginning to roll it up and place the whole pie into her mouth. However, before she could take a bite, she peered over at Marianne, noticing a furrowed brow and an unamused stare.

“Oh sorry, where are my manners?” Kim unrolled the pie and ripped off a perfectly cut piece of pizza, waving it in her friend’s direction. “You wanna slice?”

“…” Marianne’s gaze remained unchanged, still for whatever reason cross with Kim.

“Fine, two slices?” Kim wondered as she took another slice from the pie.

“…” The lack of emoting from Marianne began to annoy Kim, as she began to remove yet another slice with her non gauntlet covered hand.

“You know you get on my case for eating too much and yet here you are asking to bite off more than you can chew.” Marianne walked over and yanked the gauntlet from Kim’s hand, and proceeded to tap a few buttons on the device. Soon the spot shifted a foot to the left, revealing a sliver cash register. Kim, finally getting the hint, looked at Marianne with a twinge of frustration, as the tinkerer’s stare was now a defined scowl with Kim soon following suit.

“You are aware it’s customary to pay for a meal after you finish eating it right Marianne?”

“For restaurants maybe, we always pay first at Alberto’s! Not only that, but I also don’t want pizza grease on the gauntlet. Who knows what could happen if that sludge hits a gear.”

“You sure about that? I remember paying after the fact. Then again, I don’t think I’ve been here enough to…yeah I can’t weasel my way out of this one.” Realizing she had been bested, Kim took out her wallet and pulled a twenty dollar bill from it. “So, you chipping in? Because I was gonna get myself two pies.”

“Make it three,” Marianne requested, easing up on her earlier tension. “I’d like one for myself.”

“Hey hey hey, we got ourselves a hungry one here!” Kim laughed heartily hearing Marianne’s request.

“Yeah I got an appetite, wonder where that came from…”

“What can I say? You’re learning from the best here.” Chipping in twenty dollars apiece, they put the money on the counter before taking three pies from the pizzeria. With the transaction completed, Marianne closed the spot and the brick wall had returned in full.

“So, you think Alberto might be mad to find out three pies are suddenly missing?” queried the smaller of the duo, as she opened up a box of pizza.

“Nah, we paid for it anyway, so we good.” With that the two ladies began to indulge on pizza, enjoying every savory bite of sauce, cheese, and bread entering their maws.

*******

“Huh?” A young man’s voice questioned as he returned from his break. “Where did this come from? Did someone try taking money out of the register again?” The black haired gentlemen sighed as he attempted to put the cash back inside, only for the proverbial ding to resonate through the area.

“Clyde! What’s going on here?” The meekness in Clyde’s voice was but a humble whimper compared to that of the bellows that came from Alberto’s mouth. Alberto himself was a gentle giant, an Italian with a big dream and a big heart, serving only the best in the greatest pizzeria in Harper Bay. Yet at his age of 58, he was looking for someone to soon take the mantle and continue his legacy. With no children to assume ownership, he looked to his employees for a potential heir, and out of that lot stood the newest recruit Clyde. Clyde stood there aimlessly and unamused, only working this gig to help pay off some loans from college and graduate as a meteorologist. Still he did not care much for his job, or even his soon to be profession, only working just to make a living. Stuck in the rat race of life, and pale skinned college boy knew it well. Before he had a chance to explain to Alberto what had happened, the owner noticed the chunk of change in Clyde’s hand and the register fully opened. The gentle giant had been provoked. “Clyde, asking for a raise only to follow up by taking money from the register is not a smart play.”

“Wha? No sir, the money was just lying on the table so I was putting it back in.”

“Putting it back in, _hmph_.” Alberto scoffed at his tale. “Next you’ll tell me that three extra boxes I had laid out there for tonight’s gala grew legs and left as well.” Clyde looked over to the counter and realized what Alberto was talking about. Out of twelve boxes for the special gathering tonight Alberto had left aside now only stood nine.

“Wait what? How did they? I put them out before going on brea-OW OW **OW!** ” The owner had enough of Clyde’s excuses, and proceeded to pull Clyde by the arm back to his office. “But sir! I genuinely don’t know what happened to them!”

“Then perhaps we need to reduce your break time so you can be more, attentive to your surroundings. And this is coming out of your paycheck by the way.”

“Genuinely hate it here.” Clyde muttered under his breath, as he continued to be dragged along towards Alberto’s personal office.

*******

“So Marianne, gotta say, _munch_ thith pizuh ish relleh gud.”

“Yeah, I genuinely don’t know why, but this is simply divine. I mean look at how the cheese melts!” Marianne cooed in delight as she took a bite of pizza, letting the gooey cheese drip ever so daintily after she pulled off a chunk to leave the slice dangling like a tender piece of meat. What they were unaware of was that the town asked Alberto’s to prepare his finest dishes for a special company gala tonight, so he went all out to make some of the best pizza he had made in years. Though thanks to Kim’s meddling, three of those pies now resided with Marianne and her.

“Sorreh whuh?” Whereas Marianne took her time with her food, carefully taking bite after bite, Kim had, well, better plans. Kim proceeded to roll up the pie like before but this time was able to scarf it down without interruption. It only took about forty mighty chomps to send the whole pie through her gullet and into her ever-growing stomach. Her friend just rolled her eyes at Kim’s gluttony. Kim noticed the blonde’s disgust, and immediately closed her eyes, proceeding to take a finger towards her teeth like a toothpick. Kim was big, so she might as well act like it. Marianne sighed as she continued to take each slice carefully, letting the cheese drip playfully while unaware of the grease slowly trickling down and splashing itself against the gears of S.P.O.T. Fortunately though, nothing seemed to be off about it. Half an hour later and all three pies were conquered, now residing in the stuffed stomachs of the two maidens, resting peacefully on the floor below.

“Ughhh, probably _hic_ , should have settled for just half of a pie.” The tubby tinkerer moaned in fullness, trying to massage her tummy, slightly bulging out further than before. So much so that her finest shirt began to ride up revealing a pinch of skin. Kim smirked but said not a word, the results are more than enough.

“Well if that was the case you should have let me finish the rest. The ol’ drum surely has more left in the tank!” The musician proudly remarked as she patted her gut, stuffed to the size of a yoga ball. The sea of chyme and enzymes however, did not take kindly to the vibrations, leading to pent up gas tricking upward to a decent belch from Kim to release it. The obese drummer just patted her belly again in pride as Marianne rolled her eyes at the non-lady-like gesture.

“So Marianne, what would you use that thing for anyways? Now that you know it works and all?” “Huh, oh I uhh…” Marianne spent most of her time just making Tinkertoys simply to be recognized, she really didn’t put much thought into using them for her own desires. The query caught her off guard as she struggled to come up with a legitimate response. “Well, I suppose I could just use it to buy parts for more Tinkertoys without waiting for delivery.” Kim booed at the response, causing Marianne to fluster. “Well, what would you use it for then? Unless literal ‘to-go’ service is all you have in mind.”

“There’s more to me than just food Marianne, ya know that. First off I’d scour every music store in the world to find one place that has a set worthy of my perfect body.” The tinkerer giggled. “Literally could slap the word perfect on this thing and people still wouldn’t get the hint.” groaned an unamused Kim squeezing a pinch of belly fat. “Anyway, next would be visit every concert in the world with a good jazz band, something that really swings ya’ know?”

“Huh, guess when you put it like that, you bring up some fair points. Maybe I can check out a museum sometime with it.”

“Gotta think bigger Marianne, you can travel anywhere with that thing! As you said, the only limit is your imagination, so go wild and have fun with it!”

“Fair point, thanks Kim.”

“Hey now, what are friends for?” The two laughed heartily over a good bonding. However, minor sparks sputtered from Marianne’s gauntlet. The pizza grease managed to get wedged in-between a few cogs and was now jamming up the spot generator. Kim was quick to notice while the inventor just giggled on.

“Uhh, Marianne, is S.P.O.T. supposed to do that?” pondered a very concerned Kim. Marianne’s delight became tempered as she noticed her companion’s worried visage.

“Supposed to do what?” the inventor asked in earnest.

“Uhh, spark like that that?”

“Spark like, uh oh.” The realization began to sink in like the Nautilus taking in water. She gazed down at the gauntlet to notice the whizzing and whirring going into overdrive. A very dangerous proposition, yet as she tried to remove the gadget, it remained wedged in, now reading something strange on the keyboard.

“ _Automatic override_? This isn’t good.” Marianne shuddered in fear.

“How did it even start sparking anyway?”

“Well we weren’t near any water or another liquid that could short circuit my Tinkertoy, the only possible reason I can think of is…is…” Kim raised an eyebrow as her partner trailed off, well aware of the cause yet a tad too prideful to admit it.

“Grease in the gears eh Marianne?” A minor moment of catharsis for Kim, who was previously chastised for potentially pulling off the same stunt earlier. However at the same time the palm of the gauntlet began to glow in a brassy hue, aiming a spot right underneath Marianne. The tinkerer struggled to regain control of her creation, with Kim trying to heave her bloated body off the ground to lend a helping hand, yet soon enough the gauntlet now aimed upwards towards the ceiling, with the palm now permeating a dark red glow.

“So uh, Kim.”

“Yeah?”

“Remember how I said that the two spot mode only works within a single room?” The gauntlet’s glow grew brighter before readying another blast.

“That and the ‘no damaging the gauntlet part,’ right?” Kim smugly stated before finally getting her heavy form off the cold floor. Soon the palm shot out another beam of light, smacking right into the ceiling. Marianne gazed up above her and then right below; both spots were perfectly aligned. With a defeated sigh, she knew what was going to happen next.

“Hypocrisy, thy name is mud.” Both spots activated and just as quickly, Marianne began to plummet into the floor below, only to find herself now in free fall. A never ending cycle of falling through the floor spot, into the brick clad ceiling, then back into the floor. She jammed the gauntlet with a pounded fist to no avail, it was locked into autopilot, and at the moment in a state of recharging. Kim just gazed on baffled at the comedic routine that was currently in front of her.

“You know Marianne, if not for the implied permanence of this loop, it kinda looks like fun.”

“You.

can.

not.

be.

serious.

right.

now!” shouted Marianne, each word being stated through every pass through the spots.

“Now.

get.

me.

out.

of.

here!

I’m.

getting.

dizzy!”

“Yeah yeah I’m on i-hey,” the doughy drummer soon became distracted by Marianne’s torment. “Those panties are really pinching those thick thighs of yours.” Marianne just blushed as her face coiled into anger. This was without a doubt something she did not want to put up with at the moment, let alone ever. As she continued her loop, the trapped tinkerer hiked up her sweatpants in an effort to quell more gawking from the peanut gallery.

“Geeze, everyone’s a critic.” Kim disappointedly sighed. “Anyways, I gotcha!” Kim soon waddled over towards the spot where Marianne was looping and as she fell through the ceiling, caught her within her doughy arms. With a nod, Marianne soon pulled herself out of the embrace and back away from the spot.

“Couldn’t have asked for a softer landing, though uhh…”

“What?” ‘Aren’t you kind of on top of the spot Kim?” The bulky brunette looked down to notice the brass colored ring and peering through it, noticed the top of her head. Kim blinked twice before just embracing the fact that her heroism had now done her in like her friend. However…

_POOMF_

“So you gonna, I dunno, try to turn off the spots so I don’t tumble forever? Kinda wanna have dinner at some point.”

“Yeah sure I-pfffft.” As Marianne was about to tinker with S.P.O.T to deactivate said spots, she noticed the lack of a four hundred plus pound woman tumbling in a perennial cycle of falling, rather instead something, a tad more, well, to say that the inventor got a good chuckle out of it would be underselling it.

Kim simply looked down and soon discovered why Marianne was so bubbly. History does indeed repeat itself, as the ample adipose of the brunette plugged up the entire spot. Surprisingly enough, there was still a pinch of Kim’s belly fat bulging out from the ring. “I’m stuck, aren’t I?”

“Yep, looks like i-haha, sorry, it’s just kinda hilarious considering…”

“First the door and now this,” bemoaned Kim about her imprisonment. “Why couldn’t you just make this thing, well, more suited to a woman of my magnificent stature?”

“To be fair I wasn’t expecting this to happen.”

“You even said I can fit through this, so what happened there Marianne?”

“I only started field testing this a few months ago and designed the event horizon to cap at a few inches wider than you were back then. Not my fault you put on about thirty pounds in that time.”

“You know I’m a growing girl, really should have accounted for that Ms. Teslagrade.”

“Not the time, Kimberly.” With that Kim was quelled. When Marianne utters her full name the bigger of the two knows she’s in a mood.

“Fine, just turn off the spots and problem solved right?”

“Well, not exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“You see, if I turn it off now, I never designed S.P.O.T. to see what would happen if something were in between spots when deactivated, much less tested it. So there’s a chance uhh..”

“A chance that what? Out with it.”

“If I turn it off now, you could be split in two based on where you’re aligned in the spots. Not a good idea.” Marianne chuckled nervously as she struggled to realize the gravity of the situation.

“Well widen the spots then!” belted out a beleaguered Kim. “The drum and I ain’t going our separate ways anytime soon!”

“I know and I’m working on it.” Marianne took off her top hat, lined in maroon and gray colored wool with a fine cog adorning the gray stripe above the brim and pulled out a few of her tools. A wrench, a screwdriver, a few gears, and some spare parts and began tinkering with the gauntlet.

“So how much longer we looking at here?” Kim wondered with a hint of sarcasm.

“Listen Kim, distorting space takes some time.” remarked Marianne as she went on making repairs by removing some of the damaged cogs and replacing them with new ones. Kim in the meantime just whistled a merry tune, kicking her pudgy legs around before looking up at her bottom half plugging up the ceiling.

“You know what Marianne, I never noticed this before.”

“Noticed what?”

“I never realized how good my butt looks from here. Like, I know I got a full on bass drum in the front but didn’t realize there’s a decent pair of bongos behind me.” Kim playfully shook her derriere afterwards to show off her discovery to Marianne. The inventor just groaned, at least Kim was making light of a bad scenario. A few minutes of gadgeteering later, Marianne wiped a bit of sweat from her brow and looked on triumphantly at S.P.O.T.

“All right, this should do it!” she said with a glimmering smile. “Now once I widen the spots, you’ll be in free fall for a bit, meaning that I’ll have to time closing them precisely as you’re tumbling. Just trust me okay?”

“Girl you’ve got my trust, now send this butterball spinning!”

“On it!” With a push of a button, Marianne aimed the gauntlet towards the spots as the Tinkertoy now shone a bright blue. The rings around the spots’ edges also began to glow in the same light, as they slowly widened out further. Then all of a sudden…

“ **HRRK!** ” The spots compressed spontaneously, squeezing Kim as mercilessly as a boa constrictor to its prey. She wriggled and squirmed to no avail as Marianne jumped in shock.

“Wider, _hnngh_ , huh? Feeling lightheaded here!” Kim shouted in a desperate plea to have her friend remedy this crisis.

“Woah! Umm, oh wait, wrong setting. This should do it!”

“Can hardly wait.” Kim cynically replied, as this time the gauntlet was now in a purple tint. The rings then widened up and continued to expand outward, soon giving Kim some breathing room and eventually, freeing her stomach from the ring’s edge.

“Wheeeee!” Kim cheered as she tumbled in and out of each spot in the same manner as Marianne earlier. How she can find enjoyment in where the inventor found only terror baffled the blonde. Still, there was no time to question that now, a rescue had to be done.

“All right, Marianne, now time it perfectly…” With a lick of her lips, she watched on as Kim fell through the spots, now pulling off a superhero pose through them, before shifting into a cannonball position. As the drummer began to appear through the ceiling spot, Marianne pushed a button labeled Manual Shutdown, and the spots soon disappeared, returning the floor and ceiling to their original state. Kim, still expecting the spot to be there, let out a minor whelp as she slammed into the ground with a resounding thud. The impact managed to shake the entire workshop, even propelling Marianne slightly upward. The crash landing adventurer moaned a bit as she rubbed her weary behind with one hand and her belly with another. Marianne, now back on the ground, hurried over to the impact site to check on her friend.

“Goodness Kim, are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine, fortunately all this extra padding broke my fall.” Kim said slapping her belly, causing her entire body to wobble a bit. “Now, you mind giving me a hand off the ground?” Marianne reached out for Kim’s hand and helped pull her off the cold tiled floor. The two walked over to Marianne’s workbench, where the tinkerer proceeded to place the gauntlet underneath a glass case, to be kept in safe keeping for a while.

“So uhh…” Kim awkwardly started talking, “you gonna go out and make S.P.O.T. public or nah?” After some brief pondering, Marianne turned around and responded to her friend’s question.

“Not right now no,” she said with a sigh. “A tad too much needs to be done with it before showing it off. Waterproofing it is one thing.”

“Along with the spot size, right?”

“That, and well, I really can’t trust S.P.O.T. with the public just yet. Who knows what can be done with it in the wrong hands.” An invention that went to pot, even while successful. Marianne’s quest for glory would have to wait another day.

“This isn’t about the pizza right?”

“No, but you know what? This just means I have to keep trying, make something new that people will love.” It was Marianne’s dedication that left Kim envious. Even in spite of failure, her friend still marched on, there was more music to make, at least from the drummer’s point of view. “and besides, I’ll have you along for the ride, right?”

“Oh hell yeah, the two of us make an unbeatable team!” Marianne smiled, how lucky she thought to have met someone as wonderful as Kim, and even luckier to call her a friend. “So what’s next?”

“Well I was thinking of maybe hovercars, free the streets and cut back on pollution. Or maybe a farm that can artificially produce food to eliminate world hunger, or maybe-” Kim cut her off. As much as Marianne was a dreamer, she was easily distracted.

“One thing at a time Marianne, and besides, despite the uhh, stuckage earlier, this Tinkertoy of yours was a success. I’m thinking Annabelle’s to celebrate, you in?” Marianne, not one to shy away from sweets, nodded and the two began to make their way for the front door. With hope on the horizon, Marianne pointed out and shouted, “Let’s go! An industrial revolution’s evolution!”

“Again, really need to come up with something better than that Marianne.” Kim shook her head.

“Well,” an insulted Marianne challenged, “what do you recommend?”

“I mean let’s go is a solid opener, but the latter half’s a mouthful, hmmm…” Suddenly it came to Kim as she gazed upon Marianne’s dull green shirt. A gear atop with Full Steam Ahead proudly on display in the middle. “How about, full steam ahead?”

“Let’s go, full steam ahead…I love it!” cheered the tinkerer as she gave her friend a hug. “I got to ask though, how’d you come up with something so perfect so quickly?”

“It just felt right, ya know?”

“Yeah.” With that, and one squeezing Kim out of a door frame later, the duo reached the front door and onto the street, entered Kim’s blue SUV, and were on their way to Anabelle’s to indulge for a day well spent.


End file.
